Paul Ignatius

{{Infobox officeholder

| name = Paul Ignatius

| image = Ignatius, Paul Robert.jpg

| office = 59th United States Secretary of the Navy

| president = Lyndon B. Johnson
Richard Nixon

| term_start = September 1, 1967

| term_end = January 24, 1969

| predecessor = Charles F. Baird {{small|(Acting)}}

| successor = John Chafee

| birth_name = Paul Robert Ignatius

| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1920|11|11}}

| birth_place = Glendale, California, U.S.

| death_date =

| death_place =

| spouse = {{marriage|Nancy Sharpless Weiser|1947|2019|reason=died}}

| children = 4, including David and Adi

| education = {{plainlist|

}}

Paul Robert Ignatius (born November 11, 1920) is an American government official who served as Secretary of the Navy between 1967 and 1969 and was the Assistant Secretary of Defense during the Lyndon Johnson Administration. He is currently the oldest-living former U.S. government official.

Life and career

File:Paul Ignatius 2013 cropped.jpg

Ignatius was born in 1920 in Glendale, California, the son of Armenian parents who migrated to the United States, Elisa (née Jamgochian; {{langx|hy|Ժամկոչեան}}) and Hovsep "Joseph" B. Ignatius (original last name – Ignatosian; {{langx|hy|Իգնատոսեան}}).[http://www.businesslife.com/newsstand/sl_pastissues/2007/feb/cover1.html Businesslife.com - America: The Land of Opportunity] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070314035735/http://www.businesslife.com/newsstand/sl_pastissues/2007/feb/cover1.html |date=2007-03-14 }}{{cite news|last=Yamada|first=Katherine|title=Verdugo Views: Distinguished alum has Armenian heritage|url=http://articles.glendalenewspress.com/2014-01-29/opinion/tn-gnp-verdugo-views-distinguished-alum-has-armenian-heritage-20140129_1_paul-ignatius-u-s-navy-verdugo|access-date=21 February 2014|newspaper=Glendale News-Press|date=29 January 2014|archive-date=24 February 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140224175111/http://articles.glendalenewspress.com/2014-01-29/opinion/tn-gnp-verdugo-views-distinguished-alum-has-armenian-heritage-20140129_1_paul-ignatius-u-s-navy-verdugo|url-status=dead}} Ignatius' ancestors came from the historic Armenian settlement of Agin near Kharpert.[https://massispost.com/2015/03/paul-ignatius-former-u-s-assistant-secretary-of-defense-to-speak-at-genocide-centennial-banquet/ Paul Ignatius, Former U.S. Assistant Secretary of Defense, to Speak at Genocide Centennial Banquet] Ignatius is a trustee of the George C. Marshall Foundation and member of the Federal City Council and the Washington Institute of Foreign Affairs. He has served previously as cofounder and chairman of the board of trustees for Logistics Management Institute; chairman, president and CEO of Air Transport Association; president of The Washington Post newspaper and executive vice president of The Washington Post Company; Secretary of the Navy; Assistant Secretary of Defense (Installations and Logistics), Under Secretary of the Army, and Assistant Secretary of the Army (Installations and Logistics).[https://history.defense.gov/Portals/70/Documents/key_officials/KEYOFFICIALS-December%202017.pdf?ver=2018-02-12-081527-997 Department of Defense Key Officials, September 1947-December 2017]

While serving as Secretary of the Navy, he presented the Congressional Medal of Honor to Captain William Loren McGonagle for the heroism he demonstrated during the 1967 USS Liberty incident.{{Cite web |date=2016-06-11 |title=Liberty Survivors Say US Still Downplays Israel's Attack on Ship |url=https://www.arabamerica.com/liberty-survivors-say-us-still-downplays-israels-attack-on-ship/ |access-date=2023-04-26 |website=Arab America |language=en}}{{Cite web |date=1978-06-01 |title=The Violation of the "Liberty" |url=https://www.usni.org/magazines/proceedings/1978/june/violation-liberty |access-date=2023-04-26 |website=U.S. Naval Institute |language=en}} McGonagle's Medal of Honor was not presented to him by the President of the United States in a public ceremony at the White House, as is customary, but was instead presented at the Washington Navy Yard. This is the only time in history it has been done this way.{{Cite book |last=Scott |first=James |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Tn0pk8pVE88C |title=The Attack on the Liberty: The Untold Story of Israel's Deadly 1967 Assault on a U.S. Spy Ship |date=2009-06-02 |publisher=Simon and Schuster |isbn=978-1-4165-5482-0 |language=en}} At the time of the ceremony, President Lyndon B. Johnson was in the East Room of the White House overseeing the graduation of high school students from Capitol Page School.{{Cite book |last=Scott |first=James |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Tn0pk8pVE88C |title=The Attack on the Liberty: The Untold Story of Israel's Deadly 1967 Assault on a U.S. Spy Ship |date=2009-06-02 |publisher=Simon and Schuster |isbn=978-1-4165-5482-0 |language=en}} Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Thomas H. Moorer, a longtime Liberty advocate, was also in attendance.{{Cite web |last=Thurber |first=Jon |date=1999-03-11 |title=Capt. William McGonagle; Won Medal of Honor After Israelis Attacked Ship |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1999-mar-11-mn-16287-story.html |access-date=2023-04-26 |website=Los Angeles Times |language=en-US}} Moorer explained the award was presented in this manner because the attack on the USS Liberty had been covered-up by the incumbent presidential administration.{{Cite news |last=McAllister |first=Bill |date=1991-06-15 |title=SPY SHIP BROUGHT IN FROM THE COLD |language=en-US |newspaper=Washington Post |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1991/06/15/spy-ship-brought-in-from-the-cold/d3d94b1a-34ca-4d66-8d53-dbb9045b09a2/ |access-date=2023-04-26 |issn=0190-8286}}

He founded Harbridge House, Inc., a Boston management consulting and research firm. Ignatius received his bachelor's degree from the University of Southern California (Phi Beta Kappa and Phi Kappa Tau) and his MBA degree from Harvard Business School. He served as a commissioned lieutenant in the U.S. Navy in World War II, principally as an aviation ordnance officer aboard escort aircraft carrier {{USS|Manila Bay|CVE-61}} in the Pacific.{{Cite web |title=Ignatius, Paul R |url=https://www.history.navy.mil/content/history/nhhc/research/library/research-guides/modern-biographical-files-ndl/modern-bios-i/ignatius-paul-r.html |access-date=2022-12-19 |website=NHHC |language=en-US}} He has two sons and two daughters.{{Cite news |title=At the Navy's Helm; Paul Robert Ignatius | work=The New York Times |url=http://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1967/08/05/90387900.html?pdf_redirect=true&site=false |access-date=2022-06-16 |language=en}} David Ignatius is a columnist for The Washington Post, and a novelist. Adi Ignatius is editor-in-chief of Harvard Business Review. Both daughters, Sarah and Amy, have practiced law.{{Cite web |last=Nahapetyan |first=Haykaram |date=2022-06-01 |title=Washington's 102-year-old Armenian: Former Secretary of the Navy Paul Ignatius |url=https://mirrorspectator.com/2022/06/01/washingtons-102-year-old-armenian-former-secretary-of-the-navy-paul-ignatius/ |access-date=2022-06-16 |website=The Armenian Mirror-Spectator |language=en-US}} Amy Ignatius is a Superior Court Judge in New Hampshire.{{Cite web |last=Lessard |first=Ryan |date=2014-10-01 |title=Executive Council Confirms Three New Judges|url=https://www.nhpr.org/nh-news/2014-10-01/executive-council-confirms-three-new-judges/ }} Sarah Ignatius has worked for decades as a non-profit executive director.{{Cite web |date=2015-12-18 |title=NAASR hires Sarah Ignatius as first executive director|url=https://armenianweekly.com/2015/12/18/naasr-executive-director/ |access-date=2015-12-18 |website=The Armenian Weekly |language=en-US}}

Personal life

He married Nancy Weiser Sharpless (1925–2019) in 1947.https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/obituaries/nancy-w-ignatius-environmental-activist-and-national-cathedral-lay-leader-dies-at-93/2019/01/19/e501e502-1c0c-11e9-8813-cb9dec761e73_story.html {{Bare URL inline|date=August 2024}} They had four children, including David and Adi. He turned 100 on November 11, 2020. He currently lives in Washington D.C.{{cite web | url=https://www.foxla.com/news/paul-ignatius-armenian-american-glendale-navy-secretary.amp | title=Living the Armenian-American dream, how Paul Ignatius inspired so many }}

Legacy

On May 23, 2013, the Navy announced that an {{sclass|Arleigh Burke|destroyer|2}}, {{USS|Paul Ignatius|DDG-117}} would be named for him. It was commissioned at Port Everglades, Florida on July 27, 2019.[https://archive.today/20130616034403/http://www.navy.mil/submit/display.asp?story_id=74367 Navy Names Next Two Destroyers]{{cite web |title=Warship USS Paul Ignatius (DDG 117) Brought to Life |date=July 29, 2019 |access-date=2020-01-10 |url=https://www.public.navy.mil/surfor/Pages/Warship-USS-Paul-Ignatius-DDG-117-Brought-to-Life.aspx

|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200918110421/https://www.public.navy.mil/surfor/Pages/Warship-USS-Paul-Ignatius-DDG-117-Brought-to-Life.aspx

|url-status=dead

|archive-date=September 18, 2020

|first=Alana |last=Langdon}}